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Report: Mass. economy grew 1 percent in Q4

The Lowell Sun

Updated:
01/30/2013 11:20:15 AM EST

BOSTON -- Economic growth in the state sputtered along at 1.0 percent during the fourth quarter, according to a report released Wednesday by MassBenchmarks, a journal of the state economy published by the University of Massachusetts in collaboration with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

In contract, the U.S. economy contracted by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, weighed down by declining exports and the biggest cut in defense spending in 40 years.

MassBenchmarks estimates that the state's economy grew by about 2.1 percent, again outpacing the U.S., which was 1.5 percent.

Officials predict faster growth for 2013. MassBenchmarks reported that its leading index, a forecast of the growth in the current index over the next six months, was an annualized rate of 3.6 percent.

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